Artist’s Gallery

Darlene Olivia McElroy begins her mixed media collages with a veiled idea that evolves as she adds thin layers of paint, texture, and images. Her creations are visual stories that come together like puzzles. The final evolution often surprises her, much like reading a book where the ending only reveals itself on the very last page. She has written two books about the collage techniques she has developed, and she is working on a third. Artists from all over the world travel to Santa Fe to attend her workshops.

I discovered Darlene Olivia McElroy's work quite by accident, while looking at the art of her friends. I never saw anything like it: fascinating subjects with unusual combinations of colors, intriguing surfaces, unexpected details, and compelling titles that suggest there is more than meets the eye. Darlene Olivia McElroy is an original thinker and enormously entertaining.

Let me arrange a studio visit for you when you come to Santa Fe. There is always art in the making on her big work table, and an experience you will savor!

Sara Eyestone, La Posada's Art Curator

Curator's Office: 505-954-9668

DARLENE OLIVIA McELROY REMEMBERS: "As soon as I could hold a pencil or crayon, I was off on my art career! When I was four years old, I remember drawing a mural on my bedroom wall and thinking to myself – How cool is this!"